Health News Roundup: Anti-inflammatory and cancer drugs tested in UK as possible COVID-19 therapy; Abbvie to partner with Genmab in $750 million cancer therapy deal and more

China says clinical trials show African swine fever vaccine safe so farA Chinese vaccine against African swine fever appears to be safe in clinical trials now underway, the official Xinhua news agency said on Wednesday, a step closer to preventing one of the world's most devastating livestock diseases.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Anti-inflammatory and cancer drugs tested in UK as possible COVID-19 therapy

Two drugs used to treat inflammatory diseases and cancer are being tested as potential therapies for patients with COVID-19, the Universities of Birmingham and Oxford announced on Wednesday. Severe cases of COVID-19 are believed to be triggered by an over-reaction of the immune system, known as a cytokine storm, and researchers are investigating whether drugs that suppress certain elements of the immune system can play a role in arresting a rapid escalation of symptoms.

Ghana's Incas Diagnostics expects approval for COVID-19 antibody test

Ghana's Incas Diagnostics expects the country's regulator to approve its new COVID-19 antibody test by the end of July, saying its kits could help health authorities ease pandemic restrictions. The company is also working with developers in Nigeria, Cameroon, South Africa, and Senegal, with backing from the World Health Organization (WHO), on a mobile app that would help trace people potentially at high risk of getting the virus.

Abbvie to partner with Genmab in $750 million cancer therapy deal

Abbvie Inc said on Wednesday it is partnering with Danish biotech firm Genmab AS to jointly develop and market cancer treatments, as it looks to expand its cancer franchise. The U.S. based pharma giant will pay Genmab $750 million upfront to jointly develop and commercialize three of Genmab's cancer-targeting antibody products, including its potential blood cancer treatment, epcoritamab, currently in a mid-stage study.

Explainer: What we know about the origins of the coronavirus pandemic

Scientists are turning a spotlight on China's version of the origins of the coronavirus pandemic as they scrutinize everything from the virus's genetic code to proxy data, such as cremations and internet searches for disease symptoms. China has dismissed as "ridiculous" a Harvard Medical School study that suggested the disease could have been spreading throughout the country as early as last August, taking pains to deny claims that it tried to cover up the initial outbreak.

Special Report: Pandemic exposes systemic staffing problems at U.S. nursing homes

One night in April, as coronavirus swept through the Hammonton Center for Rehabilitation and Healthcare, Robyn Esaw, a double amputee, signaled for help with her bedpan. She said she hit the bedside button that turns on a red hallway light. None of the few remaining staff showed up - and one of them turned the light off. Esaw only got help, eventually, by wheeling herself to the nursing station and yelling. On another night in another room of the New Jersey home, Barbara Grimes noticed her roommate sitting in a puddle of urine, which seeped into a wound on her tailbone. No one checked on the roommate for three hours. The woman, Grimes said, had given up on calling for help. For virus-tamer Merkel, global alliances trumped nationalism

Travelling in convoy through the Chinese city of Wuhan last September, Angela Merkel called a halt. As her party crossed a bridge over the Yangtze river, the German Chancellor wanted to hear about a grand gesture by revolutionary leader Mao Zedong. She posed for a picture on the bridge over the river where, in 1966, Mao joined an annual swim down the river in a symbolic demonstration of his vigour and leadership. It was only a quick photo opportunity, but Merkel and her delegation were visiting what was to become ground zero of a pandemic that has killed more than 400,000 worldwide. Exclusive: Europe to accelerate trials of gene-engineered COVID-19 vaccines - sources

European officials aim to speed up trials for coronavirus vaccines containing genetically modified organisms, two EU sources told Reuters, in a move that could help shots developed by companies like AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson. The European Commission is expected to put forward the plans as early as next week. They are part of a wider EU strategy aimed at securing enough doses of a possible vaccine for the bloc as it fears lagging behind the United States and China. Potential COVID-19 vaccine from China shows promise in animal tests

A potential COVID-19 vaccine being developed by Chinese researchers showed promise in trials in monkeys, triggering antibodies and raising no safety issues, researchers said, and a human trial with more than 1,000 participants is under way. The vaccine candidate, called BBIBP-CorV, induced high-level neutralising antibodies that can block the virus from infecting cells in monkeys, rats, guinea pigs and rabbits, researchers said in a paper published in online by the medical journal Cell on Saturday. China says clinical trials show African swine fever vaccine safe so far

A Chinese vaccine against African swine fever appears to be safe in clinical trials now underway, the official Xinhua news agency said on Wednesday, a step closer to preventing one of the world's most devastating livestock diseases. Progress on the vaccine is being watched by pig farmers in China and around the world, with no cure or vaccine now available against African swine fever. Polish scientists design remote-controlled ventilator to fight COVID-19

A team of Polish scientists has designed a remote-controlled ventilator they hope will allow doctors to help critically ill patients breathe, but from a distance, in a bid to make medical personnel safer during the coronavirus pandemic. If the experimental "RespiSave" ventilator can be shown to work safely on humans, doctors can observe patients' vitals through an application, monitoring their condition and adjusting the machine's settings from anywhere in the hospital, the designers of the project told Reuters.